Good times
by A Case of You
Summary: It's been seven years since Craig moved to Dublin. What's his relationship with John Paul now? And what about Jake, Nancy, Hannah and the others?If you don't like happy stories, don't read this.
1. Chapter 1

John Paul McQueen awoke and noticed it was raining outside. He yawned and stretched as he turned around in the bed. He smiled, watching the person lying next to him safe asleep. Craig Dean's hair was at the age of 26, longer than ever. It covered his neck and curled softly around his beautiful face. The long, dark lashes rested on his cheeks and he was breathing slowly, probably dreaming about something nice, because he smiled in his sleep. John Paul never got used to waking up beside this man, even after six years being lovers and three of them living together, the sight of Craig in the mornings still stunned him. Craig grunted and reached out for him and when John Paul grabbed his hand and kissed it tenderly, he too awoke.

"Morning, you damn sleepyhead," John Paul whispered and leant over him for a kiss.

"Morning," Craig mumbled before he embraced John Paul and pulled him close. Craig was usually horny in the mornings and this Saturday was no exception. John Paul could feel his cock already pulsing against his thigh.

"So mister, what do you want to do? It seems to me you could need a cold shower," John Paul teased.

Craig let out a snort of laughter. "Shut up," he said, smiling. John Paul looked into those beautiful brown eyes filled with affection. Craig stroked his hand over his face and kissed him. Then he leaned his head against John Paul's and said with a low voice full of desire: "Do me."

Craig smiled as John Paul turned him around and started nibbling on his ear. He loved their morning shags. It was a great way to start the day. He almost always awoke with John Paul's look upon him and it made his heart ache with love and passion, seeing his lover's blue eyes looking at him tenderly. John Paul kissed his neck and slowly moved his hand to Craig's most sensitive spot. He started stroking him carefully, and it made Craig moan with pleasure. He wasn't the only one who was in the mood – he could feel John Paul's arousal on his back. John Paul was biting his ear again and whispered: "You sure you don't rather want a cold shower?" Craig laughed and turned his head. They met in a passionate kiss, their tongues fighting for dominance, and John Paul kept stroking him, faster now. Craig moaned again, his mouth clinging to his lover's.

"JP… Please…" he begged. John Paul loved torturing him like this. It was a slow, rackety stairway to heaven. But he noticed that John Paul also seemed to lose his patience. He let go of Craig for a second, rolling over and taking a little bottle with oil from his nightstand drawer. It didn't take long before he was back, slowly pushing his way inside the other man. Craig felt him slowly conquering his body and started trembling with lust and desire. John Paul's breath was hot against his neck.

Filling Craig completely, John Paul started moving with a slow, steady rhythm.

"My God, Craig…" he moaned, biting his neck and still stroking Craig's length carefully.

Slowly and tenderly the two of them made love.

But after a while John Paul became more desperate and suddenly he stopped moving. Before he knew it, Craig found himself standing on his knees, John Paul doing him doggy style. Craig almost had his release there and then. It so turned him on when JP was dominating in bed. He held Craig's hips with hands like steel, moving in and out with increasing speed and every single thought Craig might have had in is head that day just disappeared, because it felt _so _good. Then John Paul bent over, reached out and got a hold on his cock, and Craig couldn't control himself and… _oh, oh, oh, OH!_

Nancy was standing in the kitchen having a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper when John Paul and Craig entered an hour later. She didn't look up, simply said: "You know guys, I consider my sex life as pretty darn good but compared to you two I'm practically a nun."

John Paul blushed while Craig smiled embarrassed. "So you heard us then?"

Nancy finally looked up with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Are you joking? The whole town of Chester must've heard! Normally you keep it quiet, but today… Luckily the kids have their rooms in the basement."

Craig snorted. "Well, Nance, it's not like you and Jake are the most silent item in this world either – that bed of yours makes more noise than JP's stereo."

Nance smiled at him. "You know, we can't all afford the kind of luxurious, king size bed you have, Mr. Real estate agent! Aren't you supposed to work today, anyway?"

Craig smiled and put his arms around John Paul who was cutting bread for breakfast. Nancy thought that she'd never seen them so happy before. "No, Hannah's bringing Rosie over today and I want to spend some time with her." And he kissed John Paul's neck.

"You know Craig; she's staying with us for two whole weeks this time, so there'd be plenty of time to spend with her," John Paul said. "You didn't_ have to_ skip work."

"Well, you know. A lot of stuff happens when they're in this stage, don't they. I don't wanna miss out on a thing."

John Paul rolled his eyes before kissing Craig softly.

"Is Rosie staying for two weeks?" Nancy asked. "Is this a new sort of arrangement?"

"No," Craig answered as he sat down beside her. "Hannah and Gilly are taking a trip to some Greek island, getting away for a while, you know. What, Hannah didn't tell you?"

Nance searched her brain. "Well, I guess she did, but I had a lot on my mind lately so I guess I didn't pay attention."

John Paul put his arm around her. "No one can blame you for that, Nance," he said sympathetically. "But Jake and Becca are fine now. Considering the circumstances they're both dead lucky!"

Two weeks earlier, Jake and his and Nancy's daughter, Becca, had been involved in a car accident. Nancy froze when she thought about it. How they both survived was a miracle – they should both have died, but got away with concussions, one broken arm for Jake and a cut in Becca's for head. 14 days had passed and Nancy still had nightmares about how close she was to losing two of the people she loved the most.

"I know," she sighed. "Thank God! What would Charlie and I do if we'd lost them? Just thinking about it-"

"_Don't_ think about it Nancy," Craig said. "It's over now. Where are Jake and the kids, anyway?"

"Jake and Becca went to the hospital to check out Becca's cut. Charlie's at the Barnes' playing with Leah."

"The two of them really get along, don't they?" John Paul said. "I see them in school, playing together. And Leah helps him in math. She's a great kid, Leah is." John Paul was a teacher in the local elementary school and brought them updates on all their friends' kids. For instance he'd told them a couple of days earlier that Darren and Zoë's son was slippery, clever and rude, just like his father, selling his lunch to the other kids.

"Yeah, Amy's done a great job with her," Nancy said. "We should invite the Barnes over soon."

She rose from the table. "Oh yeah, by the way, I spoke to Sarah the other day." Craig looked up from his sandwich. Seven years had passed and he still had that same guilty look in his brown eyes. After Sarah's finding out about him and John Paul, the two of them never spoke again. When he returned to Chester after finishing his education in Dublin, Sarah had moved to London. John Paul had at least made his peace with her and they still e-mailed now and then, but between Craig and Sarah, things would probably never be ok. It didn't bother him much, but when it randomly came up, he still felt the same sting of guilt. John Paul squeezed his hand.

"How was she?" Craig asked.

"She congratulated you both," Nancy said. "Said she was really happy for you guys."

Craig looked at John Paul with affection. "That's great," he said and John Paul kissed him.

Nancy left the two of them alone and walked into the living room. She stared out of the window on the pouring rain. Jake and Becca came through the gate. They were laughing while they jumped in all of the water ponds on the cobbles in their yard, water splashing everywhere. Nancy laughed and gave them five more seconds before she opened the window.

"Jake Dean, you're not supposed to get water on that plaster!" she called. "Get inside, the both of you, before you catch a cold!"

Jake laughed. Nancy was so cute and funny when she pretended to be mad like that. He peeped down on Becca. "Better do what mummy tells us to do," he said, and blinked.

"No!" the five year old girl said. "This is so much fun, dad!"

"Well, we don't want you to catch a cold, do we?" he asked and before she got to run away from him, he grabbed her with his good arm and carried her with him. Becca screamed with laughter.

Nancy met them in the hall. "So, how did it go?" she said and tip toed to kiss him.

"We can remove her bandage on the day after tomorrow," he said. "You've had a good night," he said, looking at her with concern.

"Not really," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Still nightmares?"

"Oh Jake, I just can't stop thinking about what almost happened!" she said. Some tears were dripping.

"Becca, sweetie," Jake said to the little girl. "Mummy is a bit sad. You go and play with your uncles."

She ran towards the kitchen and Jake took his wife in his arms.

"It's okey, Nance," he said softly. "But try not to think about it, ok? Focus on the good thing – we're still here, and we're not going anywhere."

"Yes," she whispered.

The two of them remained standing in the hall, he stroking her back and she crying silently on his shoulder. "We're really lucky, Nance," he said. "We have each other. Charlie's doing great in spite of a troubled start in life. And we have a beautiful and funny little daughter, who looks exactly like you and acts exactly like me. What more could we ask?"

Nancy wiped away the tears and smiled. "Well, I rather hope that it'll be the other way around with our next kid," she said. "The way Becca acts like you, worries me sometimes."

Tears turned into laughter and Jake took her hand and led her to the kitchen. Becca was sitting on John Paul's lap, telling him everything about her trip to the hospital. Craig was doing the dishes.

"You all right, mate?" he asked Jake when they entered.

"I'll be fine, Craig" he answered. Then he got a teasing look in his eyes. "Or maybe we should call you, Cr-Cr-Cr-Craaaaiiiig, now!"

"Oh, shut up!" Craig said, smiling. John Paul had turned a light shade of pink.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No, it's all right," Jake said. "The batteries in my clock are flat, so it's nice having you and my baby brother to wake me up, so I don't miss my appointments with the doctor."

"Sorry mate," Craig said. "We didn't realize we were making that much noise."

"What noise?" Becca asked, eagerly.

"Nothing, love," Nancy hurried to answer. "Grown up stuff, you know." She gave Jake a strict look.

He laughed. "We better get ready," he said. "I called the Barnes. We can pick Charlie up on the way to mum's."

The little family left the kitchen.

"You know, they've actually made machines that do this for you," Craig said grumpily, struggling to get the bacon fat away from one of the plates.

John Paul didn't answer. He was too wrapped up in the news paper. Craig looked at him.

"Hey, where are your contacts, man?" he asked and John Paul was finally looking up. At 25, John Paul's vision was not the same and he sometimes wore spectacles. Craig preferred him wearing contacts, because he couldn't stand something covering his boyfriend's beautiful blue eyes.

"Craig, I'm not even out of my pajamas yet," John Paul said, laughing. "I promise I'll put them on later, all right?"

He got up and walked up to Craig, putting his arms around him from behind while Craig kept washing up."

"You know," the brown eyed man said. "Sometimes I'm still amazed. For the first time, I can actually say that I'm completely happy with my life. I wouldn't change a thing."

John Paul kissed his neck and Craig continued. "And Jake! I mean, you remember how he was when he first found out about us? And now he's like making jokes about our sex life! I can't quite believe it."

"Well, we can try to do it a bit quieter, "John Paul said. "But you're right. We have been so lucky."

Craig finished up and turned around to face him. He looked at John Paul, feeling the love for him running through his veins. John Paul was just as gorgeous and fit as he'd been at the age of 17. The only thing showing that he was older was the spectacles and a single wrinkle on his for head.

"I love you," Craig said. "I want you to know that the last three years have been the best in my whole life. Living with you, waking up beside you, having meals with you, making love to you – I couldn't ask for anything more. And when I think about you never losing your patience with me, standing by me, waiting for me, I'm so grateful I almost can't breathe."

John Paul kissed him tenderly.

"I fell for you, Craig Dean. I fell in love with you from the first time I saw you, even though you had the ugliest clothes and the worst haircut ever," he teased.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Craig said, looking embarrassed.

"Well, never mind all that," John Paul said. "Hannah's bringing Rosie over in about an hour, so I think we should hit the showers. What do you think?"

Craig smiled. "I think I like what you're thinking!"

Okey, that's it for now, but I'd like to continue. Please review! There might be a lot of mistakes - I'm Norwegian so English is not my mother tongue...


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: ****Okey**** guys, this is nauseating happy, but we need a little happiness, don't we? Thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming, they mean a lot. **

**xxx**

At the age of 26, Hannah Ashworth was actually a bit chubby, and all of her friends loved it – they all remembered her walking around as a living dead all those years ago and they were never going to forget it either. The sweet roundness was back in her face and her eyes were finally sparkling again. The road back to a normal life had been like hell, but she'd done it. She was a survivor. One of the people who had helped her the most was John Paul. When Craig came back into his life he found the strength to help her, refusing to remove from her side even when she was yelling terrible things to the man. He knew that everyone blamed him for her anorexia and yet he stood by. They became the best of friends. If John Paul's sexual orientation was any different, he would probably have married her. The other person who had stood by was her husband Gilly Roach. Having almost lost Hannah to an eating disorder, Gilly was forced to realize that his feelings for her were so much more than just friendly, her being his best mate's little sister. But no one caused a row, not even Rhys. Together, the two men led Hannah back where she belonged.

This Friday, Hannah and Gilly had their two years anniversary and he was looking forward to go away with her for a while – it would just be the sun and the ocean and the waves and the two of them.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin," he said to baby Rose while changing her diaper. "You know that Gilly loves you, but he needs to be with mummy alone as well."

Hannah stepped into the bathroom. "All packed!" she said and took Rose in her arms. "Oh, mummy's gonna miss you, baby girl," she whispered. She looked at Gilly. "But you're right. It'll be great with some alone time."

"Yeah, it's been a while," he said and kissed her cheek before going to put their trunks in the car.

Hannah remained standing in the bathroom looking at herself and her daughter in the mirror.

"Ah, you're so perfect, Rose," she said. "No one is ever gonna convince you otherwise. " Hannah tickled her and the baby giggled. She already looked a lot like her mother, but no one could say that the little girl's intense blue eyes came from any other than her father, John Paul.

When little Rose Ashworth McQueen was born nine months earlier, Hannah was relieved to get the child out of her body. It may sound terrible, but having Gilly, John Paul and Craig watch over her growing stomach 24/7 for almost nine months had almost been too much. It had been devastating when Gilly found out that he couldn't have children, but like every other obstacle, they got through it. They were considering adoption when Hannah remembered another couple who couldn't breed.

Then the four of them had gotten together. And the rest was history.

Rose was lying wrapped up in her arms; her eyes wide open with wonder, when the tree men barged into the room. Hannah almost wept when she saw the look on their faces seeing their daughter for the very first time: John Paul looked more proud than ever, Gilly had something tender in his eyes and Craig _actually _wept with a huge smile and said "She's perfect Han." And then Hannah lost the little she had left of doubt about the whole 'agreement.' Rose having four parents, was nothing but a good thing – she would have double up with love and care for the rest of her life.

"Yes you will!" she said to Rose, smiling at the memory before Gilly called her name and she took the baby outside in the car. They didn't really have to drive, taking the house was only 500 meters down the street, but since they were going directly to the airport after dropping Rose off, they all buckled up for the 30 seconds drive.

The house that Jake, Craig, Nancy and John Paul had bought together was a huge, tree-storey one with a huge backyard. Hannah smiled at the sign hanging at the front door: _Welcome to Jake and Nancy, Charlie, __Becca__, John Paul and Craig and Rose._ It was barely room for the last name, and she wondered what they were going to do if or when the next child came around (and considering the size of the house there would probably be _several_ children in the future).

"My God, Han, it's like an all American family!" Gilly laughed and knocked.

"Rosie!"Craig said when he'd opened the door, reaching out for her. Gilly laughed and handed the little body over to him.

"Well, hello to you too!" Hannah said, pretending to be offended.

Craig was finally able to tear his eyes from his daughter. "Sorry Han," he said and kissed her on the cheek. "You're the second most beautiful woman in this room. Isn't she Rosie? Yes! Isn't she?"

"That child is going to be so spoiled," John Paul said, entering the room. "You ready to go, sweetheart?" he asked and put an arm around Hannah.

"Oh, I'm gonna miss her!" Hannah said.

"Relax – we'll take good care of her," John Paul reassured her, and then turned to Craig who was still all wrapped up in Rose. "Hi angel! Oh, excuse me, but have you grown? Yes, I think you have!"

"My God man, you saw her the day before yesterday!" Gilly said.

"Hey, pack it in you," Craig said, laughing, but not taking his eyes from the baby. "You're always like that when we've had her for only a couple of hours!"

"She's like a little laughing puppet!" John Paul said in his baby voice. "When you tickle her on the tummy, she giggles! Hey Gil, watch this!"

And Hannah watched while the tree men stood there with her daughter, Craig in the middle with Gilly and John Paul on each side, all looking amazed at Rose's giggling – you would think neither of them had ever seen a laughing baby before – and she felt a complete happiness running through her veins.

"Craig, for God's sake, put the poor baby down!" John Paul looked strictly on his boyfriend. "Give her a break!"

Craig rolled his eyes and placed Rosie back on her carpet. Then he sat down beside John Paul in the sofa and together they watched her.

"I just love her so much, you know?" Craig said.

John Paul put his arms around him. "I know. Me too. How can you not? Just look at that beautiful little thing!"

"You know what I think is most beautiful about her?" Craig asked and looked at John Paul with his dark brown eyes.

"Tell me."

"She's got your eyes."

John Paul looked at the baby who had now rolled over on her stomach. "Yes, she does, doesn't she?"

He met Craig's eyes, and they kissed deeply. "I love you, John Paul."

John Paul kissed him again. "Tell you what; tonight when we've put Rosie to bed, I'll let you show me how much."

The wonderful silence that had filled the huge house was suddenly interrupted when the Dean-Hayton clan came back from their little trip. Loud voices and laughter cut through the air and the men on the couch finished the snogging as the ten year old Charlie Dean walked into the living room, arguing with Becca.

"Give it, Charlie! Give it!" the little girl called.

"It's MINE Becca!" Charlie shouted. "You already ate yours!"

"Hey kids! Keep it quiet, will ya?" John Paul cast a worried glance at Rose. "Rosie's here and we don't want her hearing to be damaged, will we?"

"Oh, who's being the overprotective mother-hen now?" Craig teased. "I think she'll survive, you know."

Charlie and Becca knelt beside Rose's blanket and tickled her.

"Awwww! She is so CUTE!" Nancy said, standing behind the sofa. "She really has your eyes, John Paul."

Jake came from the hall and snuggled his arms around her. "You wanna make another one, Mrs. Hayton?"

"God, no," Nancy said. "We can just borrow Rose whenever we want, can't we guys?"

John Paul laughed. "If Craig will let you! He seems to sometimes think that no one but Rosie's parents can take care of her."

"Well, it's a good thing you've got Hannah and Gilly then," Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "Because with only two, that would've been pretty exhausting!"

"I don't know," Craig said, rubbing the back of his head, a habit he had kept from his teens. "I'm just so worried something's gonna happen to her, you know?"

"Nah, it's all right baby brother," Jake said, patting Craig's shoulder. "I was like that with Charlie. Believe me - when number two come along it all looks a bit different. Been there, done that!"

"Jake!" Nancy said, slapping his arm.

"It doesn't mean you don't love them as much!" Jake exclaimed.

"Well, anyway," John Paul said. "I think there will be some time before we have another one."

It was bedtime and Craig had crawled under the sheets in the bed. He rubbed his eyes, feeling exhausted but content. Having Rose in the house always left him with that feeling.

"Hey, Craig!" John Paul was standing in the doorway, whispering. "Come and see this!"

Craig got up and followed his boyfriend across the hall. Rosie had a beautiful room. All of her aunties - Steph, Debbie, Nancy, Zoë, Carmel, Tina, Mercedes, Jacqui and Michaela - had been able to forget about their differences and gotten together and painted it pink. It had been finished in about five minutes with all those women cooperating and was filled with big, fluffy pillows and stuffed animals. Rose's room was definitely the most feminine and beautiful room in the whole village. But the most beautiful thing was the little baby girl lying in her tiny bed.

John Paul led Craig to the bed and embraced him tightly as they watched their daughter.

"She's sucking on her thumb!" John Paul said in admiration. "Look at that little miracle!"

Craig felt an overwhelming love rush through his heart, watching the sleeping girl while feeling the arms of John Paul around him.

"She's perfect," he said and carefully stroke her head. Then he looked at the blonde man beside him and said seductively: "Let's get to bed."

John Paul was wearing nothing but boxer shorts and even though he really was exhausted, Craig had to have him before sleeping.

He was still gorgeous, Craig thought. Actually, the years seemed to do him nothing but good. Inside their own room, he quickly embraced his lover from behind and whispered hotly in his ear: "God, I want you so much." Craig felt John Paul shiver as he eased his hand inside his boxers and started to stroke him gently, while kissing his neck.

John Paul let out a low moan. Craig's touch still put him instantly on fire after all these years. But he didn't want love-making tonight. He wanted the brown haired man to fuck him, fast, hard and merciless. He turned in Craig's grip and kissed him hungrily, pushing his tongue deep into his mouth while grabbing his cock. Then he pulled back and removed his boxers.

John Paul felt happy that the sight of his naked body still amazed Craig, just like when they were teenagers. His brown eyes were filled with desire and he looked John Paul up and down with lust.

John Paul lent in close and placed a kiss on his lips before whispering into his ear.

Being family men now, they couldn't allow them self to go just as crazy as they did before and he had to ruin the spontaneity a bit by reminding Craig about a simple fact: "We'll have to keep it quiet, Craig, but…" John Paul pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I want you to fuck me."

Craig raised one of his eyebrows. "Oh, really?" he said teasing, but couldn't hide the effect those words had on his body.

Their sex life had so many aspects. Sometimes they made love, slowly and tenderly. Sometimes blowjobs and touching was enough. And then again, there were times when they enjoyed a quick fuck.

Craig looked at those blue eyes, heavy with lust and couldn't hold himself any longer. He turned John Paul roughly around while removing his own boxers. No time for the oil, spit would do, and John Paul bent over and Craig did as he was told, hard, fast and merciless.

Jake was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, struggling to get his tie right. It wasn't easy with just one arm and finally he gave up.

"Nancy!" he called in frustration.

"She's downstairs preparing breakfast," Craig said, entering the bathroom with a yawn. "What's up?"

"I can't get this bloody tie right!" Jake threw it angrily on the floor. "I have an important meeting today and I can't show without a tie, can I?"

Craig yawned one more time. "Wait a minute," he said tired. "JOHN PAUL!"

"Dam it, I'm only down the hall," they heard John Paul saying grumpily before arriving. His blonde hair pointed out in every direction and his spectacles weren't right. Baby Rose slumbered on his shoulder. "Thank God, Rosie doesn't have a bad temper. It would have been non stop crying, you idiot!"

Craig looked guilty. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"So where's the fire, then?"

Jake tried not to laugh at the two tired men. "Sorry, JP - can you give me a hand with my tie?"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" John Paul rolled his eyes before handing the baby to Craig. "You know, I grew up surrounded by nothing but women, and even I had to learn how to put on a tie!" He quickly did what Jake had been unable to do for the last fifteen minutes.

"Hey, I only got one arm!" Jake said offended.

"Yeah, because Nancy never does it for you when you have two, does she?" John Paul chuckled. "Now get out - I'll have to take a shower."

Jake made his way downstairs where Nancy greeted him with a kiss. He laughed.

"You know, Craig and JP really are no good in the mornings!"

"Honey, in this house, you're the only morning person," Nancy answered tired.

Jake looked at her and Charlie and Becca and realized she was right. Both of the children practically slumbered in their cereals and Nancy barely managed to drink her coffee.

When the little family from upstairs made it to the kitchen, things speeded up a little. John Paul even told a joke. Jake was set at the head of the table and took a minute to just watch his family. It made him proud. Nancy was reading something from the newspaper and explaining it to Becca, Craig was nursing the baby with John Paul's arm around his shoulders while he again talked to Charlie about a fieldtrip they were going on next week. They looked happy, Jake thought. All of them.

They finished their breakfast and Jake realized he was in a hurry. He quickly gave Nancy and the children a kiss before he ran towards the door. After opening it, he suddenly froze in the doorway. There was a young, pretty and brown haired lady standing in front of him. She obviously had been reading their sign and hadn't knocked yet. They looked at each other in astonishment.

"Sarah!"


End file.
